Kickstarting local arts: Nemes, others prove crowdfunding can work

Tuesday

Apr 23, 2013 at 6:00 PMApr 23, 2013 at 6:43 PM

In the wake of extremely high-profile and successful Kickstarter programs by musicians such as Amanda Palmer and filmmakers such as Rob Thomas, more and more artists are turning to Internet “crowdfunding” sites to help raise money for their projects. And why not? Palmer raised $1,192,793 to release her recent album, “Theatre is Evil,” and Thomas raised a record-breaking $5,702,153 to make a movie version of his cult–favorite TV show, “Veronica Mars.”

From time to time, we like to mention projects that local artists are trying to crowdfund. Sometimes, the effort just doesn't work out, but once in a while, we're pleased to see something come to fruition. For instance, local rockers Nemes recently tried to record their forthcoming album, “I Carry Your Heart,” by raising $7,000. According to their Kickstarter page, they raised $9,074. Ka-ching!

But don't start celebrating yet. That might seem like a lot of money, but as the band notes on the page, their overall needs to record, distribute and promote their CD clock in at more than $15,000.

Nemes members, by their own admission, played it smart and aimed low, because one of the quirks of Kickstarter is that if you don't meet your stated goal in the time allotted, you don't get anything. So there's still work for them to do once the CD gets made. But still, it seems they're in a much better position than they were when they started.

We were a little more concerned when we checked in on the IndieGogo page for the 2013 Louder than a Bomb Massachusetts Youth Poetry Slam Festival. With 23 days left to go at this writing, the fundraising effort for the event has only raised $350 of its stated $10,000 goal.

A quick phone conversation with one of the festival's organizers, Worcester poet Alex Charalambides, revealed that efforts to push the campaign had been suspended after the bombing at the Boston Marathon and the subsequent events in Boston, but the organization was getting back to the fundraising effort.

Here's a video from the site explaining what the festival is and how it can have an impact on the lives of young writers:

Charalambides also notes that, because the group's on IndieGogo instead of Kickstarter, it was able to use a “flexible funding” campaign that allows it to keep donations even if they don't meet their goal.

Other projects on Kickstarter include an effort by Worcester locals Suzana Harcum and Owen White to fund a print volume of their webcomic, “Tripping Over You.” As of this writing, they had raised $11,956 of their $2,500 goal, with 50 hours left. Another effort, to raise $30,000 to stage a full-scale production of “Rent” in the city this summer, has only raised $12 of its $30,000 goal, with only nine days left.

Local symphonic metal band Anaria is raising money to record its new album through a GoFundMe.com page. As of this writing, the band has raised $2,163 of its stated $15,000 goal, but GoFundMe doesn't appear to have an “all-or-nothing” barrier like Kickstarter does.

On the surface, it might seem like the “all-or-nothing” requirement is a disincentive, but it acts as a safety net to keep people from donating to a failed cause, and really, a number of artists have found the demand motivating, causing them to promote the fundraising effort relentlessly, until the goal's met.

It's not money for nothing, after all. The most successful Kickstarters seem to be the ones in which the donor gets something tangible at the end. Often, the vast majority of the “donations” were really just people pre-ordering a book or album from an artist they like, and maybe a little merchandise such as a sticker or a T-shirt. This was the case with Palmer, and it seems to be the case with Nemes. The largest donations they received were a handful for $125 and $150, where the donors received original art or a hand-painted violin. (Two donors took the $150 “party with the band” option, too.) The overwhelming majority of donations were basically pre-orders.

For artists looking to use Kickstarter or similar sites to further their projects, perhaps the lesson is to keep it simple. Set your goals reasonably, and be prepared to have to work to finish the job. And don't underrate the power of small donations, or donations that are basically early orders — those are what make the difference between a great idea and a successful campaign. (Victor D. Infante)